Seto no Ai
by ShizukaUsami89
Summary: A prince who ran away from home to discover the world and a simple villager of a far away island who lost his family from childhood will discover what its like to have a family, living by the sea.  "By sea we met, I'm afraid its waves might drift us apart
1. Chapter 1

**~Shizuka: Hi everyone…**

**~Misaki: What's wrong Shizuka?**

**~Shizuka: Been to the hospital the other day. So, technically, I couldn't write… (Add up the holidays… Ugh…) so everyone, practically wants to sue me! *turns to readers* I know you guys are waiting for my updates for "Bear House" and "War of Roses". The files of my computer became corrupted thanks to my brothers. **

**~Misaki: So you're not updating?**

**~Shizuka: -_-" Yes… But I'll give a three chapter preview of my new creation (from the hospital)**

**Everyone, I hope you forgive me… But I'll update soon enough my three stories.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Junjou Romantica.**

**~Shizuka Usami**

**1****st**** wave:**

"**Ship Wrecked"**

Dark clouds filled the sky as larger waves reigned in sea. It was certainly a gloomy day for a voyage but it did not stop a twenty eight year old gentleman with silver colored hair to board the ship. He put on his cloak as he sat on the side of the ship. The man pulled out his journal and brush to start writing. A smile played on his lips, "I wonder if Aikawa already saw my letter…" he chuckled as he looked up the grey sky.

"WHERE THE HELL IS HE?" the red haired lady cried out as she hastily scanned every nook and cranny of the palace. The herd of servants were also following her and searching for their highness.

"Aikawa-sama, we couldn't find his highness! We've searched everywhere!" the guards reported with the servant girls who searched the Queen's quarters. "His highness didn't go to the Queen!"

Aikawa pulled out her hair, "WHAT? That's impossible! The Prince has got to be around here somewhere! He cannot leave the palace! Not now!" she panicked and paced. The prince was missing since early in the morning. When the prince's second assistant, Aikawa Eri, checked the prince in his room, he was nowhere to be found. He normally takes a walk if he gets up early (which he seldom did) to clear his mind and look for inspiration in writing. However, when the clock struck ten in the morning and the prince was still missing, the assistant panicked. Aikawa decided to look for him thoroughly in the palace. That was when she found out that the rest of the servant who usually goes with the prince did not see the prince since morning. Half of the palace panicked, the servants, guards and officials near the Prince's quarters were alarmed.

"Should we report this now to his majesty?" one of the squad leaders asked.

The assistant looked at him and cried out, "WAAAH! I'm finished! If the King finds out that the crown prince is missing, they'll chop my head off!" she covered her face with both hands and sobbed. "What did I do to deserve this?"She mumbled.

"Aikawa-sama! We found a letter for you!" a young servant girl ran towards them, holding a piece of paper.

"W-What is it?" the red-head took the piece of paper after wiping away her tears with the sleeves of her long red sakura patterned kimono. Aikawa opened the letter and read it.

_Aikawa,_

_If you're reading this, I have already boarded a ship and am sailing the vast sea now. I have decided to see and explore the outside world in order to widen my understanding of things and write more. I no longer want to be trapped in a cage where all my actions are watched by the prying eyes of sordid royalties. I am not destined to stay there. I hope you are not fuming and cursing and wanting to have your hands wrapped around my neck to kill me. Even though you always shout at me and order me around although I'm the prince, I still CONSIDERED you as a friend…_

_By the way, tell Hiroki that he can have all the books that I left behind. You can take the BL ones…_

_Akihiko_

"Aikawa-sama? What's wrong?" one of the servants asked, trying to peek into the letter.

"That man…" Aikawa gritted her teeth. "I'M GOING TO KILL HIM!" she shrieked and tore the paper in her hands into tiny million pieces like the future of her reputation as future Court lady and Vice chancellor in the main palace.

"Achoo!" Akihiko sneezed and quickly wiped his nose. _'I bet someone is talking about me…' _he chuckled as he thought of Aikawa roaring and turning the palace upside-down and inside-out, just to look for him.

"Your payment Sir?" the collector asked the silver haired man.

Akihiko pulled out two pieces of silver coins and gave it to the other, "Keep the change…"

"Thank you gracious sir!" the old man smiled and left.

The prince sighed and put his journal back on his bag, _'Now… What should I do first after getting off this ship?' _He was not quite sure about it. When he escaped through one of the old passages of the palace, he didn't make a plan of what he will do first. Well, the prince didn't really think that he could escape the platoons of guards patrolling and also the sentries in their towers.

He pulled out a cigarette from his yukata; it was a gift from foreign merchants who wanted to sell goods in their lands. The prince kept some of it for himself despite the ban of King Fuyuhiko. Akihiko found smoking as a stress reliever.

Akihiko blew a faint cloud of smoke in the air, _'Well… Like they say, it's better to go unprepared than make plans and fail…'_

"I sense that you have no particular course… But it will just be revealed in the right time." an old lady smiled at him. She had brown hair with a few white streaks and green eyes and was carrying a small bag and wearing an old ragged kimono. "May I sit beside you?" she asked.

The prince nodded and let the old lady sit beside him. He watched the other curiously; he was certainly bewildered by the other's odd greeting.

"I believe you are a first time traveler…" the woman added as she opened her bento, "Here, please have an onigiri…" she handed the other a rice ball, which the prince took gratefully.

"Yes, it is my first time… But I am curious. How did you read my mind?" he asked through his cigarette.

The old lady giggled, "Well, let's just say it's an old lady's intuition… but to tell you the truth…" she paused and looked around before leaning closer to the prince, "I'm a seer…." She whispered and backed away with a smile. "You can never tell whom you will meet in this life, your highness…"

Akihiko's eyes showed interest. He always heard about seers, oracles and priestesses whom the earlier kings consulted but he never saw and met one. But now, like a dream came true, here she was in the flesh.

Seeing the young man's reaction, the old lady laughed, "My, my… You know, your highness; this is the first time that someone believed me the first time I said that…"

The woman smiled, "Well, may you grant me the honor to read your fortune, your highness?" she asked.

Akihiko blinked and smiled gently. He was surprised that the other called him 'your highness' although he did not utter a word that he was a prince. "If you please…" he nodded.

The old lady smiled and touched the prince's forehead with her index finger. She saw a stream of memories, all of them took place in the palace. Memories of loneliness and melancholy but some of them had a tinge of happiness in them, memories with friends.

"What are you seeing?" Akihiko asked.

The old lady smiled softly, "Nothing yet, your highness… but please be patient…" she spoke and felt a sudden new wave. A new batch of memory panels, "I can see someone… with short brown hair…"

The prince's eyes narrowed in disinterest, _'That's probably Hiroki…'_

"And bright green eyes…" she continued.

"Green eyes?" the prince asked. _'What an unusual color…'_

"This person will be your guide in your voyage" she smiled sadly and took her hand away from the prince. "And you will never feel alone and sad again…"

Akihiko was puzzled, "How will I meet that person or when?" he asked.

"Soon enough" the old lady nodded.

Suddenly, a huge wave hit the ship, making it tremble and cause panic in the passengers. A guerilla downpour fell upon the vast sea, followed by flashes of lightning and roars of thunder. "EVERYONE! GET IN THE BARN!" the captain exclaimed. "WE GOT A STORM WITH US!"

Akihiko looked up the sky, "Why all of the sudden…" he turned to the old lady, "We should go with them…" he trailed off when he noticed that his old companion was nowhere in sight. _'Where is she?'_ he thought and looked around. He quickly stood up and went to the crew members who were calling the passengers, "Excuse me, did you see an old lady?" he asked and described the woman.

"Huh? We didn't allow any elders to board the ship due to the captain's orders! Now, please sir, get in the barn!" the crew answered as he called the rest of the passengers.

Akihiko's eyes widened upon realization that he talked with a ghost and remembered the old lady's words, _you can never tell whom you'll meet in this life, your highness. _Indeed.

A loud crash was followed by the sudden flash of lightning. The ship trembled with great force after hitting a large coral. The captain rushed out of the barn, "We're sinking! ABANDON SHIP!" he exclaimed.

The people quickly panicked and rushed to the smaller boats. The elegant and huge ship turned into a large pandemonium as the passengers battled for dear life just to board the smaller boats. In their rush, some of the passengers were being pushed off board and into the raging sea. As Prince Akihiko made his way to the escape boats, a large man who was running toward the boats in frenzy, pushed a little girl off the railing, "Michiko!" the mother of the child cried out.

In a snap, the prince managed to pull the girl up back to the ship but as soon as the girl was saved, another colossal wave hit the ship. The prince lost his balance and got pushed off the sea vessel. Akihiko closed his eyes as his body hit the water. The impact was not that hard but it was enough to make the prince's body ache. He held his bag close and started to swim up but the current and waves of the sea were too powerful for him.

Akihiko, after a long time, felt his mortality again. It was back when he was a child when the prince almost lost his life after another water related accident, which was more like an incident.

'_Shit… Don't tell me that it will all end like this?' _He felt his consciousness slowly slipping away as more bubbles escaped through his nose and mouth. _'Well at least I didn't die inside the cage I lived in my whole damn life…' _he let out another bubble. _'But if __**you**__ will reincarnate me in another lifetime… I want to have a normal commoner's life… I want to have a family who will accept me… and love me' _the prince let out the last bubble of his breath, his life, his hope. At least he called out to the God whom he never talked to before in his life, wishing that God will save his soul and give him another lifetime, a new start.

But before Prince Akihiko lost his consciousness, he saw something that was either pitch black or blindingly bright white engulf him and ate him away like his life.


	2. Chapter 2

**2****nd**** Wave:**

'**That Fateful Day…'**

The storm has ended as the bright sun rose up to the heavens, like hope after a devastating night. It was truly frightening during the night as lightning and thunder ruled the dark sky, strong winds hit the small island near Chiba prefecture. Some of the trees near the shore were down due to the gusts and lightning. The people of the island were fortunate that it didn't start a forest fire during the storm. They cannot handle two calamities in one night. The most fortunate ones in the island were the people who lived by the shore. Only one wooden house with five rooms, a kitchen and a bath, stood firm their. Fishing equipments were beside it along with a small boat which was old and withered. The occupants of that humble home were seven children, two young adults and an old man. Everyday was peaceful and quiet…

"Gimme back my ball!" a four year old boy with jet black hair and blue eyes cried out as he chased an older kid about seven years of age, around the house.

"If you can get it wimpy Hazuki!" Touya teased and jumped over the other sleeping children. He was second to the oldest and liked to push his other 'siblings' around. He was simply the bully.

Hazuki was third to the youngest and always became the victim of his big brother. He was the softest so if he can't beat the other, he would eventually, "WAHHH!" he cried out at the top of his lungs, waking the other children up. The two other children with both dark brown messed up hair blinked and rubbed their eyes. They both started to cry in sync with Hazuki's cry, making the whole house tremble.

Touya fell to his knees and covered his ears, "Ah! Stop it! FINE I'LL GIVE YOUR LAME BALL BACK!" he grumbled. Hazuki stopped crying and wiped away his tears. He quickly took his red ball back and started to play. However, the twins didn't stop crying, they were only two years old.

A larger kid with grey hair took one of the twins in his arms and tried to lull it back to sleep, "Shh… It's okay Daisuke, go back to sleep…" he mumbled with his monotone voice as he patted the child's back. The youngest of the twins tried to climb up to the other's back and held on to the other.

Touya let out a deep sigh as he finally heard silence, "Way to go Kuro…" he grinned.

Kuronosuke, the eldest child, approached Touya and gave him a well-known knock on the head, making the boy wince in pain, "Ouch! Why did you do that for?" he growled.

"You're always causing trouble… If Kaachan hears this…"

Suddenly the door slid open with a loud thud, "W-What happened?" a young brunette entered the room with a very worried expression on his face. His green orbs had dark circles, sign that he lacked sleep.

"What's the ruckus here?" a young blonde growled with fury. His grey colored eyes were certainly flaming in annoyance.

The brunette approached the group and took one of the twins from Kuronosuke, "What happened here?" he asked.

Hazuki rushed to him, "Kaachan! Touya took my ball…" he mumbled.

The blonde one rushed to the said boy and gave him a massive head rub, "YOU LITTLE BRAT…" he grumbled.

"AHHHHH! Ouch!" Touya cried out as he escaped from the other's evil clutches, "Shinobu-niichan is such a bully!" he growled. "I'm going to tell this to granpa!" he rushed out of the room.

"Oi! Touya!" Shinobu gritted his teeth.

"He's just like you when we were little…" the brunette chuckled.

Shinobu glared at the other with a red face, "Misaki, I am nothing like that!" he grumbled.

"Kaachan… I'm hungry…" the children mumbled as they crowded Misaki. They had always considered the eighteen year old brunette as their 'mother' after they were orphaned by their parents after a tragic incident.

Misaki smiled, "Okay, I'll make breakfast… But first, fix your beds and change your clothes." He put Daisuke down beside Kuronosuke, "Kuro-kun, take care of your brothers and sisters okay? I'll just make breakfast."

The boy nodded, "Okay, fold your futons everyone…" he instructed and helped the smaller kids get their work done.

"Shinobu, come on… I'll need help in the kitchen…" Misaki walked out of the room and went in the other room on the left. There, a baby with silver colored hair was wrapped with blue cloth. The child was moving her arms and was making gargling sounds. The brunette took the bundle of joy in his arms, "Morning Yuriko…" he smiled and put the child on bag-like cloth and wore it. The baby was on his back facing Shinobu who had a bored expression on his face.

"Come on Shinobu, you need to chop the ingredients…" Misaki went to the kitchen and started to fetch the ingredients from the pantry. Shinobu took them in his arms, "Don't you ever get tired of taking care of all these brats?" he asked the other. "I mean, you're not related to anyone of them…"

Misaki sadly smiled, "I know Shinobu but you know that I can't turn my back on them… They're just like me; I know how hard it is to lose your family in such a tragic way. I also don't want them to feel alone like I was before…" he answered as he walked out of the pantry and prepared the fire to start cooking.

Shinobu sighed and started to chop the ingredients, "You really sound like their mother…" he mumbled.

Misaki tied his long brown hair up into a ponytail, "Can't you just use 'father'? I'm not that feminine you know! I'm also a guy!" he grumbled.

"Kaachan, I need water…" Hazuki pulled Misaki's yukata. The teen quickly took a cup and filled it with water. He handed it to the boy, "Here… Now don't spill okay?" he reminded as he wiped the water dripping from the child's mouth as he drank.

Shinobu could only roll his eyes at the irony he was seeing, _'not feminine at all…'_

After having breakfast, Misaki left the children to Shinobu. "Okay, I'm going to work now… Nobody plays too far away from here and don't swim without Shinobu-niichan watching you…" Misaki reminded the children who were in line on the genkan.

"Will you bring us some sweets?" asked Touya asked.

"We'll see…"

"Will you bring us toys?" Daisuke and Jun, the brown haired twins, asked.

"I'll ask my boss…"

"Will you bring me hairclips?" Sachiko, the second to the eldest asked as she combed her fingers through her bluish hair.

"I'm not sure…"

Hazuki pulled the sleeve of Misaki's white yukata, "Will you come home early?" he sobbed.

Misaki smiled softly and kissed the child's forehead, "Of course, Hazuki… Now be good…" he stood up and headed out.

"Bye Kaachan!" the children waved goodbye to their 'mother'.

An old man walked towards them, "Has Misaki left already?" he asked.

"Yes, dad… He still wants to work on that toy shop. You're still working for the feudal lord right? Why does he insist on working?"

The older Takatsuki chuckled, "Well, he is a hardworking lad… His parents would be so proud of him." He paused as he saw Shinobu's face soured, "Don't be jealous Shinobu… I'm also proud of you because you're going to take the Civil Service exam…" he chuckled.

Misaki walked through the shore, heading to the rocky pathway to the higher place of the island where the town is located. Their house was far from the center of the island in order to avoid the huge taxes by the feudal lord. Even if it was quite dangerous, they did not have much of a choice.

The brunette sighed and looked out in the vast sea. The beautiful sparkling water that could also cause so much misery to him continued to move and creates small waves. _'Kaachan, Touchan… Niichan… Are you still out there somewhere?' _Misaki thought as he arrived at the rocky part of the beach. It has been ten years since pirates killed his family during a fishing day. He was then taken in by the older Takatsuki, Shinobu's father and a very good friend of his father. Since then, Misaki tried his best to avoid being a burden to the family who adopted him and treated him fairly.

"Ugh…" a low moan was heard from the rocks, making the young brunette jolt in surprise.

"W-what was that?" he stuttered as he looked around. _'Niichan, please help me…' _he prayed and tried to find the source of the sound. "Mmm…" another was heard. Misaki quickly pulled the stick-like jade ornament off his hair, making his brown locks flow down to his waist, "O-Okay! That's not funny! Whoever you are show yourself!" he squeaked and turned around.

"UWAAA!" he exclaimed as he saw a hand over the rock. He gulped and slowly approached it. To his surprise, it was a man with silver colored hair. The stranger was wearing a black yukata which had a couple of seaweeds on it. "I-It's a corpse!" he stuttered and tried to poke it with his ornament. The man slightly stirred and groaned as waves continued to hit his aching body.

"He's alive…" he blinked and tried to pull the other out of the water. _'TOO HEAVY!' _he gritted his teeth but still pulled the other with all his might. Luckily, the man was half-pulled out of the water. Misaki made him lay on his back. He pressed his ear against the other's chest and heard a faint beating sound along with a low gargling one. _'He's still alive but he definitely drank too much water…' _the teen deducted. "What should I do…" he mumbled and remembered the most important thing that his brother taught him.

"Okay… All I have to do is blow air through his mouth then five presses on his chest… then again…" he mumbled to himself as he tried to remember everything correctly. "Okay! Here goes nothin'" he mumbled as he moved to the stranger's lips. He opened the other's mouth and blew a huff full of air, moved away and pressed the other's chest five times, trying to pump out the water trapped in the stranger's diaphragm. "Please, wake up… Live…" he mumbled as he repeated the process.

A mouthful of water escaped from the silver haired man's lips followed but a series of loud coughs. Misaki smiled in happiness; "Finally…" he sighed and helped the man rest his back on the large rock. The stranger seemed to be half-conscious. Misaki moved closer to the other, "Mister, are you alright?" he asked as he cupped the other's cheeks to face him. "Mister?" he called out as he wiped away the other's hair to the side, revealing the stranger's handsome face.

Misaki could feel his face heat up and found himself unable to take his eyes away from the other, _'He looks like a prince…' _he thought as he continued to gaze at the stranger.

Akihiko slowly opened his eyes, trying to keep his consciousness and check if he was still alive. _'Am I dead already?' _as he tried to adjust his sight to the sudden brightness of day. As soon as he could slightly see, the first thing his lavender colored eyes saw were the most brilliant color of green eyes on a cream-colored heart shape face with sakura petal lips which were moving as if saying something.

'_Great… I knew I'll be dead… But I never expected that I'll end up in heaven…' _Akihiko chuckled and felt his throat ache as he tasted the saltiness of the sea in his mouth.

Misaki heard the man make a sound but he couldn't understand it, "Mister? Are you alright?" he asked again. As much to the teen's surprise, the stranger pressed his lips against Misaki's. The teen's eyes widened in shock and felt his body tense up with the sudden tingling sensation on his lips. _W-What…_

'_If this is heaven… Then I won't mind having the taste of it…' _The prince thought as he slowly deepened the kiss.


	3. Chapter 3

**Act 3:**

"**The Stranger"**

Series of waves hit the boulders beside the sea, creating a resonating sound by the sea. Along with seagulls squealing on the sea, the wind whispered softly around the island. An ambience so peaceful, so quiet-

"UWAAA!" Misaki shouted after shoving the stranger away, sending the other back to the boulder with a strong push. He scampered away in fright and quickly rubbed his lips.

Akihiko groaned in pain after hitting the rock, "I thought angels don't hurt anyone… Why did you push me?" he hissed.

"T-That's because you're a pervert!" the brunette squeaked pointing at the other with such conviction. Misaki shook his head wildly, "I can't believe my first kiss was…" he trailed off and gritted his teeth. "I shouldn't have helped you!" he cried.

The prince blinked, "You mean I'm not dead… yet…" he sighed in relief.

"W-Who are you?" he asked.

"I-I'm Misaki…"

"M-Misaki?"

'He hissed as he felt a stabbing pain on his torso. He cringed and groaned.

Misaki looked at the other suspiciously and gulped, "W-What's wrong?" he asked with his lips trembling in the cold. Thanks to the stranger, he got soaked.

"I-I don't know… I think… something's wrong with my torso…" the prince gritted his teeth and put a hand over the said part. He felt something warm and flowing.

The brunette looked at it and his eyes widened in shock, "Y-You're bleeding!" he gasped and rushed to the other. "It's deep… Oh god…" he mumbled and looked around for something to use. "Don't you have anything like a gash or something?" he panicked, examining the other's belongings.

"N-No…" Akihiko breathed and rested his head back on the rock, "Great… Now I'm going to die from bleeding and back injuries…" he chuckled and winced. A normal person would have been panicking on his place but the prince still had his cool demeanor despite the deep cut on his stomach. "Isn't it a wonder that I wasn't eaten by the fish?" he added.

Misaki scowled and fumed, "Idiot!" he growled and tore a part of his yukata into strips. Akihiko's eyes blinked in surprise as he saw the other adorably tore the cloth with his hands and mouth, like a small kitten playing with his yarn, _'He's so cute…' _he told himself as he watched the teen did his work. _'I wonder how old he is… probably 15 or 16… Does he live with his family? All I know is how he looks like when he smiles and gets really angry…'_

"Cute…" Akihiko chuckled and coughed.

"Did you say something mister?" Misaki asked as he finished tearing the cloth. He approached the man, "Okay, you need to take your yukata off, I'll wrap it tight so it would stop bleeding…" he instructed with a serious face on.

The prince snickered and made his muscles contract, making him wince in pain, "Ouch…"

"Stop laughing, will you? You're already freakin wounded and you're still like that?" the teen clicked his tongue. "Come on!" he ordered, helping the other slid off the top-half of the prince's yukata.

Akihiko simply complied to the other, "You can't blame me… After tearing your clothes so cutely like that in front of me and wanting me to take my yukata off for you, don't you think that's a bit awkward for the first meeting?" he asked with a straight face, though in his voice, the teen could hear a hint of a smile.

Misaki blushed up to his ears and tightened the tie of the bandage, "S-Shut up! Another comment like that and I'll leave you like this! The crabs would feast on you…" he grumbled as he finished up.

"Sorry… I'm just being thankful…" Akihiko weakly smiled and put his hand over the other's soft one which was over his wound.

The teen looked at him in surprise, locking eyes with the man he just met. Misaki saw the most unusual color of eyes that a person could have, just like his. Only a few people had bright green eyes, almost all of them are foreigners. But seeing such violet ones, bewildered him. _'This man… where did he came from? I never saw someone with such dark and sad eyes like these before…'_

The crashing of waves continued resonate within the two's warm silence. Until…

Akihiko felt his eyesight blur, so he quickly shut his eyes tightly and hissed. The prince felt his wound throb. Misaki snapped out of their own world and shook his head, "Mister! What's wrong?" he asked and noticed that the man's consciousness was slowly slipping off. "Mister! Hey! D-Don't fall asleep!" he panicked. "Please, open your eyes!" he stuttered and held on the other's hand tightly.

The prince only moaned, "I can't…"

Misaki looked at the other worriedly and finally came up with an idea, "O-Okay… I'm gonna get some help! J-Just stay here and wait for me okay?" but the teen felt the other's hold tighten on his hand.

"M-Misaki…"

The teen took his jade ornament and put it on the other's hand, "This is from my mother's… Hold on to this until I get back okay? I promise I'll be back…" he promised and smiled.

The prince smiled back weakly and nodded. The teen ran off towards the town which was closer than his home. Akihiko gazed at the hair ornament and turned to the ocean which was sending waves at him.

"NOWAKI-NIICHAN!" Misaki called out from the door of a small clinic.

The old man with glasses who was fixing the cabinets almost fell off his stool. "W-What the…" he turned around and saw the drenched youth, "Misaki! Good morning! What's with the rush?" he asked.

"Kimura-san, W-Where's Nowaki-niichan?" the brunette asked, trying to catch his breath.

A tall man with raven colored hair stepped out of the other room, "Misaki… What's wrong?"

"There's… man… shore… wounded…" he panted.

"What? I can't understand…" Nowaki mumbled with a confused expression on his face.

Misaki moaned and took the giant's hand, "There's a man by the shore who is wounded! We need to hurry!" he exclaimed.

The giant blinked in surprise and shook his head, "Okay, let me grab my things…" Nowaki took his medical kit, "I'll be off, father!" he bid the old man goodbye and went off with the young brunette.

"Okay…" Kimura smiled.


End file.
